Juniper
by luna36.soule
Summary: My story goes back to the time before camp halfblood, to the time of ancient Greece. Though many would believe that I was not even a thought that far back in time I was very much alive, and I was not a Juniper Bush then. It begins with a boy made of gold.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N . For those of you who don't know who Juniper is she is Grover's girlfriend in the last couple books.**

**And if this looks familiar I started writing a story like this but it wasn't going very well it to so I took it off and started again, differently.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Juniper, or any character also in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books****. Depressing...**

**Hope you like it!**

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Juniper. And what is that name to you? Does it have a flavor on your tongue that hints at adventure and heroes and battles bravely fought. A flavor that makes you want to join in, grab your own sward and start creating a place for yourself among those heroes that will ever be remembered for their bravery? Does it remind you of something sweet such as the soft gurgle of a forrest stream or a baby's first laugh? It does not sound like either of these things in any way. Yet neither does it sound particularly evil. It is simply Juniper. Not remarkable but not particularly drab. It just is. Yet behind this unremarkable personality there is a story, as there is for every being no matter how insignificant. A story that might, possibly, make you look again at this quite average Juniper Bush and think that she might actually be more then she appears. Or perhaps not. But no matter what you think about me the time has come for my story to come out into the open so that not only I may know it. It is time for Juniper to not only be known as a bush.

My story is dark, darker then most would expect from a frail tree spirit. And it begins sometime before many would believe I was even born. It all begins with a boy who seemed to be made of gold, and I was not a Juniper bush then.

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**A/N It's short, yes and I'm sorry if it bugs you but this is just a prologue. **

**Review please! This chapter is short, so it probably only took you about to read and would only take about 30 seconds to write a review. Constructive criticism or nice ones only please.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N It's been forever since I updated, I know, but I had procrastination issues and too much homework so sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely, positively, nothing! **

**Hope you like it!**

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My story begins in Greece. My name was not Juniper then it was Leto. In the ancient legends Leto was said to be the mother of the twins, Apollo and Artemis. It was an honorable name as Artemis and Apollo were celebrated for their great deeds, for that I was proud to bear such a name. And yet, many believed that it was exceptionally dishonorable to name a child after a goddess. As if the parent was claiming that their child was as great as the gods themselves, an arrogant thought to be sure. The meaning of the name Leto was hidden and forgotten, and that, too suggested a ominous and mysterious background. Many meanings from a simple name, all dark. It was not surprising that I was generally avoided from the time I was little. Small villages have a reputation for foolish superstitions and my village and I were no exception. The people were not rude or unkind to me physically in any way, yet they were always distant, and I distinctly got the feeling that my name was whispered behind closed doors and then conversations hushed when I entered the room.

I was an orphan from an early age. My parents were gone by the time I was old enough to remember them. The only thing that I could recall from my early childhood, the time before they died, was an intense light, similar to that of the moon at it's brightest, except many times more powerful. The memory is unexplainable and most likely simply imagined but still, I held on to that memory because it was the only thing I had to prove that they were real. Not simply a figment of the imagination. No one I knew seemed to want to speak about my parents death. It was odd, whenever I asked they got a far away look in their eyes and something else appeared there. Something disturbingly close to fright. But then the moment was gone and they told me that my parents drowned in a flood, and to not waist my time trying to get to know people who have already gone down to the otherworld. It made me shudder to imagine my own parents with Hades. Though I had no doubt in my mind that they reached Elysium, I frequently woke up screaming from a dream where Hades himself tortured them with ever-burning fires, cackling with evil laughter. Their screams of agony echoed in my mind for hours after I woke up.

I was brought up, in a way by the entire village. I had no real adoptive parents. Perhaps it was the unspoken threat of my name or maybe something else, something that I couldn't quite grasp no matter how close it seemed to coming to the surface of my mind. No one spoke up to being parent for me, unusual especially for a small village. When I was quite young I lived with an old woman named Agatha. From what I gather from the more loose-tongued members of the village I became an orphan at the age of three and lived with Agatha until the age of nine when she disappeared. Many say she drowned, others that she got lost in the woods gathering berries and never found her way back. The most widely believed one however was that she had a debt to pay with the gods and had to give her soul to pay it back. My time with her was a time period that I assumed was the happiest of my life, aside from the three years I lived with my real parents, yet I do not know. All of my memories, besides the light are gone. The first thing I can remember is being on the very hard and uncomfortable floor of Xanthe's house, with her standing over me grumbling about wasted time and energy for a cursed child. When my eyes opened she glared at me.

"Awake, yes? Finally, I thought you were gone for some time."

"Wh-where am I?" I asked, thoroughly confused. Having no memories of this place, or any other to speak of.

"You, cursed child, are in the house of Xanthe and Xanthe needs help with the supper, so on your feet girl!" She was not known for her sympathy.

And that, was the way my life went for the next five years. I went from house to house in the winter months, never staying in one place long, for there was always the air of people wanted me as far away from them and their children as possible. In the summer months, I slept under the stars, much preferring it there. It was there, under the stars in a field just outside the village in my fourteenth year that I had the first of the dreams.

_One moment I was staring up at the constellations and the next I was in Xanthe's house, sitting beside a roaring fire. Xanthe and several other village woman were sitting, and spinning or knitting. It was not an uncommon scene, women gossiping while they worked but it was the topic of discussion that __was unusual. _

_ "She is a cold child, like she thinks she's better then us or somethin'" Xanthe remarked. I knew, as you often do in dreams that they were speaking of me._

_ "I know what you mean" another woman spoke up. "She scares my little ones, somethin' about her that's...creepy and dark."_

_ All three of the women nodded in agreement._

_ "No!" I wanted to shout, "It is not me but you who don't reach out!" But I didn't, for they hadn't seen me yet and I wanted it to stay that way. They would be none to happy if I was found eavesdropping on their conversation._

_ "And her name, I always knew that those two, her parents, were arrogant but I never thought, never even guessed that they would go that far, that claim." She shuddered._

_ "Yes Aspasia, none of us could ever imagine," said Xanthe. "And I think Agatha must have had somethin' to do with that too, otherwise they wouldn't of come for her as well."_

_ I burned with curiosity. Who would come? What claim? The questions bursted to come out but they had to be momentarily silenced for another woman, Chloe, said, "I don't think Agatha had anything to do with that, but she helped the child which was strictly forbidden. My heart has ached for that poor child, without a family to speak of. But I could not allow what happened to Agatha happen to me and my family."_

_ "Do you think she knows?" Aspasia spoke timidly, her eyes darting from side to side, as if she was afraid of being caught saying these things._

_ "Knows what?" Asked Chloe._

_ Aspasia seemed too overcome with fright to say more so Xanthe spoke up, but this time it was not in her usual forceful voice. She spoke, most unusually in a frightened whisper. "That she bears the curse of the goddess."_

_ I gasped, curse of the goddess? The women started and I realized they had heard me. "Wh-what was that." Aspasia seemed close to hysteria._

_ Xanthe's eyes found me, sitting beside the fire, listening to every word they had said. Her eyes went from surprise, to confusion, to terrible anger. "What," she roared. "Are you doing in my house!" She came towards me wilding her knitting needles like a weapon, and the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground of the field, breathing heavily._

_ "_A dream!" I thought. "It was only a dream." And yet, somehow I knew that it wasn't, that I had actually been there, and, most sinister of all that I had actually been seen by Xanthe. Would I be allowed back in the village now that I had been discovered eavesdropping on such a conversation. And what a conversation to hear! My imagination went wild remembering it. Curse of the goddess? Whatever could that mean? Could it be something to do with my name as Aspasia had implied, could it be the reason that the entire town seemed to want me gone? And why had I come to be there in the first place? How could I have gotten from the field to Xanthe's house and back again so quickly. It seemed impossible and yet I knew I had not dreamed it, like I had known in the dream who Xanthe and the others were speaking of.

It took me hours until sleep again found me. I tossed and turned, the conversation replaying again and again in my mind. The questions came one after another, none of them answered.

When I finally slept I dreamt of the golden boy.

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- How long has it been? A year? Wellllllll I am SO sorry. I know that everyone has probably given up on me. I had a severe case of procrastination and writers block...but here is a new chapter! (applause)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- i own...NOTHING! **

He lay on a golden cushion the exact color of his long, curly hair. When I was able to tear my eyes away from his perfect features I noticed that the pillows he lounged upon seemed to be forming into new images on their own accord. On closer inspection they seemed to be made of moving pictures, constructing themselves into visions of great forests and mighty heroes. This fact was nearly as distracting as his perfect, beautiful, boyish features. He had round, blue eyes and soft looking skin that shone in the bright, misty light that surrounded us.

"Leto", his voice was young and warm though beneath the surface lay a wisdom that can only be acquired by centuries of existence.

I made a noise deep in my throat that had originated as a greeting but came out sounding more like "amgh". I blushed furiously, I couldn't even think. Those eyes...

His laugh was sunshine and he blinked his long lashes good-naturedly. In any other scenario they would have been feminine in appearance but there was a distinct strength to his aura that balanced his look perfectly. He was flawless, and I felt like an old hag in comparison.

"Come Leto, sit by me child." I was distracted from my reflections by his voice once more. I sat obediently. "You do know who I am, don't you, Leto?"

I nodded. I was not a fool, I had understood that I was in the presence of Apollo, god of the sun. It explained his golden aura, his warm voice, but not why I was talking to _me_, a simple village girl.

As if reading my mind he said, "And do you understand why I am here?"

I shook my head.

"Think, my child, has nothing strange happened to you recently? Nothing, perhaps, like a vision, that has come to you." His eyes twinkled, and I understood that he knew of my dream.

He smiled at the look of recognition that flitted across my face and raised an eyebrow. "I thought so Leto. Now, down to why I'm here. You have shown us all now that you possess psychic talent, without you realizing it yourself it has set into affect a series of events that are both fascinating and irreversible."

I continued to gape stupidly at him.

"Speechless, I see." He grinned again, "but would you like to hear more? I'm sure I am confusing you, and yet I truly am trying to make this understandable to you. What is confusing, I hope soon will be clear. Are you ready?"

"Yes." I croaked, surprising myself at my nerve in finally using my voice.

"Excellent. Well, Leto, I am pleased to tell you have an interesting lineage."

"My parents are dead, I a-am an orphan." I interrupted.

"Oh you certainly are." He answered. "But you do have family. Quite a lot of us actually."

"Us?" I was sure I had misunderstood him.

"Why of course," he said. "Didn't you ever wonder where you came from, or why every single person who came to care for you ended up disappearing?"

The god was confusing me. What did he mean? I was just ordinary Leto, clumsy and useless. It was for those reasons the entire village despised me. "What do you mean?" The stupidity of the simple questions brought a flush back to my cheeks.

"Think about it."

And so I thought. I remembered the old woman who had apparently raised me, who had disappeared and who I had retained no memory of. I remembered how all the villagers had been so hesitant to tell me of my parentage and how they had seemed almost frightened of me, as though fearing I might burn them if they got too close. And I remembered my strange vision and, with a chill, Xanthe's final words; "she bears the curse of the goddess!"

I scrutinized Apollo with a new light in my eyes. He must have perceived it for he chuckled. "Relax, child. It's a long story."

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	4. Chapter 4

**I know it's been forever, I am having to apologize...again. I'm really sorry, I'm working on it. However, it would help with my motivation if you lovely people would actually review the story. Last chapter there we no reviews...none! I was depressed for a month. (Not really, but I could be). So...REVIEW! **

**p.s. I own nothing.**

**p.p.s I'm serious about the review situation.**

"Relax child" the boy said. "It's a long story. Now, I'm sure that you're familiar with my father." His eyes twinkled mischievously, I nodded. " Now, my poor mother, pregnant with Zeus's twins traveled the globe for a place to give birth. This was very difficult. Hera, enraged that Zeus had lain with yet another woman had forbidden that my mother give birth on any land. Luckily Leto, your namesake, found a way around that little problem, though that it another story, and gave birth to Artemis and myself." I knew this story. Leto had found a small island that had not yet attached itself to the earth and so was not officially land. Though I wouldn't have called that a "little problem". The god continued, "Hera is known for her jealousy and is merciless with any woman who she catches with her husband. Which," he said, "is where you come in." He had lost me again, and I told him so. He smiled kindly. "There was once a woman named Charis, the most beautiful woman in the land, daughter of a duke. She also had the voice of an angel. Naturally she caught Zeus's attention. One thing lead to another and they produced Madelia. A demigod."

"A what?"

"Half god, half human. Hera was furious, it took her a full year until she would speak to Zeus again. She eventually forgave him, Charis was not so lucky..." he trailed off. I shuddered.

"And their baby? What happened to her?"

"Zeus convinced Hera to spare the girl, he sent her off to live with a family on the coast, visiting her once a year. Unfortunately, the girl grew up aware of her remarkable parentage and thought herself superior to the other mortals. Charis had been a rare soul, she was beautiful and charming but not arrogant in the least. Her daughter had inherited the beauty, but was the most headstrong girl in Greece. Her foster parents let her get away with it, and Zeus spoiled her from his first visit.

Madelia grew up and married a man just as arrogant and self-important as she was and within the year she had given birth to a baby daughter. Hera had nearly forgotten about Charis, but Madelia, being who she was, was not about to let that happen. She liked the idea of defying Hera, of being the daughter of Zeus depite Hera's anger. She decided that in naming the child, she would rub Zeus's actions in Hera's face. She decided to give the child a name that would show Hera that Madelia was neither afraid of her nor respected her. She named the child Leto."

I gasped. "No, but..."

"Yes, you were that child. My birth was proof of Zeus's unfaithfulness, and there was nothing Hera could do to stop it. Madelia thought she was being clever in giving you such a name."

"What happened to her, Madelia?" Part of me did not want to hear the answer.

"A goddess will not be mocked." He said darkly.

I was speechless. My mother, Madelia, Charis, Zeus, Hera. None of it made sense. "But if my mother was Zeus's daughter, that would mean I am..."

"My great-niece" He smiled. "Like I said, you have an interesting lineage."

I didn't know what to say. The room seemed to be spinning. I couldn't take it all in. Zeus was my...grandfather? But that couldn't be. I was just Leto, a simple village girl. If Zeus was my grandfather then why had he never made my life in the village happier?

"Why didn't Hera kill me too?" I asked. If my name had really been intended in that way it was surprising for her to let me live, proof of my mother's irreverence.

"She wanted to, but there was a prophecy about you, from the oracle at Delphi." He said. "And if you were dead it would make fulfilling that prophecy much more difficult." I opened my mouth to speak but he silenced me with a finger. "No, I'm afraid I can't tell you what the prophecy contained, it wont come for a long time, but I'm sure you will know it eventually."

"Are you sure the prophecy meant me?"

"Undoubtably."

We sat in silence for a moment, I was still trying to comprehend the bombshell that had been dropped on me. "Xanthe said that I was cursed by the goddess, does that mean Hera?"

"Yes. She vowed that you would grow up miserable, to make up for your mother's actions. She planted the seed of suspicion in the village folk so they wouldn't trust you. Then she disguised herself as an old woman and spread just enough information about your situation to scare them. The rumors took care of themselves after that."

"But what about Agatha?"

"Agatha was your mother's aunt, well, foster-aunt. Madelia told Agatha everything and so naturally she knew about Charis and Zeus. At Madelia's death Agatha found you and raised you. Hera forbade her to ever see you again when she found out, you were too happy with Agatha. Hera visited Agatha in the same old woman disguise as before. Unfortunately, you accidentally heard their conversation, it told you everything Agatha had been keeping from you, and more. It was too much information for one little girl to be able to comprehend, so Zeus wiped your memory. And Hera sent you to live with that horrible woman, Xanthe."

There was a faint feeling n the back of my mind, like a memory trying to come to the surface. It was like waking up from a dream then realizing you've already forgotten it. However, part of me still didn't believe his story, it seemed like a lot of work for the gods for one girl. "You said it told me..more? What is that supposed to mean."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. I'm sure you will find out eventually." Then he smiled again. "Now, about that little vision you just had. To the surprise of everyone, you have the gift of sight."

"The what?"

"The gift of sight. Truly remarkable. And very interesting."

"Why would I have this...sight?"

"You are the grandchild of a god, everyone expected you to have some sort of powers. Though the gift of sight isn't usually associated with Zeus..." His eyes clouded, he looked like he had just realized something. He seemed to realize the change of expression and it disappeared, replaced again by a warm smile. "But no matter, we don't know much about the children of demigods, it doesn't happen very often."

"Why not."

"It's not important." His smile had become rather fixed, a struggle to keep it there. "And I'm sorry, but we've been talking too long already, it's time for you to head back to your charming little meadow."

"But.."

"Shhhh. Leto, I'm sorry, but I've defied her long enough. Goodbye for now."

"Who is 'her'? Hera?" My voice was desperate, I still had so many unanswered questions.

"What do you think?"

The last thing I saw was his golden eyes before being jolted awake, drenched in sweat. Someone was calling my name. And they did not sound happy.

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